Derek Chisora vs. Deontay Wilder

An Icon Will Fall

Date	4 April 2026
Venue	The O2 Arena, London, England
Tale of the tape
Boxer Derek Chisora Deontay Wilder Nickname War The Bronze Bomber Hometown London, England Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S. Pre-fight record 36–13 (23 KOs) 44–4–1 (43 KOs) Age 42 years, 3 months 40 years, 5 months Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) Weight 266.7 lb (121 kg) 226 lb (103 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBC No. 14 Ranked Heavyweight IBF No. 2 Ranked Heavyweight WBO No. 6 Ranked Heavyweight WBC No. 13 Ranked Heavyweight Former WBC Heavyweight Champion
Result
Wilder wins via 12–round split decision (115–111, 112–115, 115–113)

Derek Chisora vs. Deontay Wilder, billed as 100 and An Icon Will Fall, was a professional boxing match contested between Derek Chisora, and former heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder. The bout took place on 4 April 2026 at The O2 Arena, with Wilder winning by split decision.

Background

Derek Chisora (left) and Deontay Wilder (right).

On 9 May 2013, Frank Warren announced a fight between Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder on 15 June at the Wembley Arena in London, live on BoxNation. However, Wilder's then-promotional outfit, Golden Boy Promotions, confirmed that the fight had not been finalised due to legal issues.

In December 2025, former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder confirmed that he and unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk were in negotiations to face off in Summer 2026. However, on 21 January 2026, reports stated that Wilder was nearing a deal to face Chisora in April in London as a tune-up fight before facing Usyk. The following day, reports stated that the bout was scheduled for 4 April at The O2 Arena, with Viddal Riley set to feature as the co-feature bout. The event would mark as the inaugural event under Misfits Boxing's new sub division dubbed MF Pro, a professional boxing division promoted by KSI and Kalle & Nisse Sauerland. Despite these reports, Warren claimed that Chisora was still under contract with Queensberry Promotions. On 30 January, the bout was officially announced in partnership with Queensberry Promotions livestreamed on DAZN.

Wilder appointed Don House as his head trainer, replacing Malik Scott. Wilder and Scott remained on good terms. Wilder described Scott as a crucial support during a difficult phase, calling him a “brother” and crediting him for mental rebuilding. House was known for training over 28 champions across boxing and UFC and took over head trainer duties for Wilder's last fight in June 2025.

During fight week, Chisora was made a 1/2 favourite by Sky Bet and Wilder was a 13/8 underdog.

Fight details

Wilder won by a controversial split decision with scores of 115–111, 115–113 in his favour, and 115–112 in favour of Chisora. Compubox showed that Chisora landed 143 of his 385 punches thrown (37%) and Wilder landed 125 of his 341 thrown (37%). Chisora did have the edge on power punches, landing 105 compared to 99 from Wilder.

Aftermath

Following Wilder's win, in the post-fight interview, Wilder said "Derek, he's a warrior. He came like a lion to fight, but like I said before, I don't play boxing, I come to end it" and "I had had to heal. You know, it took a long time for me to heal, but I'm back, and I'm going to get better and better each and every time". Chisora felt as though he won the fight, saying "I came out the ropes, I don't know why. I'm just upset that I come out the ropes, because if I didn't come out the ropes, I'd have won that fight. You know, he pushed me out the ropes once and the second one I just came out for some reason". Chisora was presented with an honorary belt from Five Guys in commemoration of his post-fight ritual of presenting fast food to his opponents.

Fight card

^Note 1 For European cruiserweight title and IBF world title eliminator
^Note 2 For WBO interim middleweight title

Broadcasting

Originally, reports stated that the event will be broadcast by Sky Box Office as a return to British boxing. However, on 30 January it was announced that DAZN had acquired the streaming rights.

References